French court finds actor Depardieu guilty of sexual assault
A court in Paris on Tuesday found actor Gerard Depardieu guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021 and handed him an 18-month suspended prison sentence, in a fall from grace for a towering figure of French cinema.
In one of the highest-profile #MeToo cases to come before judges in France, Depardieu repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyer said he would appeal the court's decision.
But judge Thierry Donard said Depardieu's explanation of events had been unconvincing. The #MeToo protest movement over sexual violence has struggled to gain the same traction in France as in the United States, although there are signs that social attitudes towards sexual assault are changing.
One of the two plaintiffs, Amelie K, a set decorator, told the court the actor had groped her all over her body as he trapped her between his legs and made explicit sexual comments.
One of the plaintiffs, Amelie (centre), talks to the press after the verdict in the sexual assault trial in Paris on Tuesday. AFP
"He touched everything, including my breasts," she recalled. "I was terrified, he was laughing." The presiding judge said two witnesses corroborated her account whilst Depardieu, who was not present for the ruling, had been contradictory in his own accounts.
Amelie K's lawyer described the ruling as a "beautiful decision" that gave recognition to Depardieu's victims. Depardieu has faced a growing number of sexual assault allegations in recent years, which has put a spotlight on how women are treated in the movie industry. He has consistently denied wrongdoing.
His trial has laid bare a generational divide in France over sexism, with some prominent older actresses defending him. Brigitte Bardot, 90, told broadcaster BFM TV on Monday that "those who have talent and grope a girl get thrown into the gutter".
Denying sexual assault, Depardieu had argued beforethe court that he did not consider placing a hand on a person's buttocks sexual assault and that some women were too easily shocked.
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